The 4th

Preaching Rev. Dave Thompson Key Elder Heidi Duncan Greeters June Pierce Marge Myhra Judy Nusbaum Head Usher Jean Ross Liturgist Jack Bell Care Board Tom & Ginny Helmer Van Driver Chuck & Cindy Leggate Communion Chuck & Cindy Leggate Diane Noddings Marv & Janet Brown

The 11th Preaching Rev. Dave Thompson Key Elder Sharon Brady Greeters Thelma Riggs Lucile Weisbeck Jody Lafko Head Usher Royal Johnson Liturgist Bill Lorentz Children’s Sermon Pastor Dave Care Board Chuck & Cindy Leggate Van Driver Don Harr

The 18th Preaching Rev. Dave Thompson Key Elder John Stewart Greeters John & Susan Stewart Greta Murray Head Usher Marlene Spencer Liturgist Shari Dayton Children’s Sermon Pastor Dave Care Board Jody Lafko Van Driver Kate Mitchell

The 25th Preaching Rev. Dave Thompson Greeters Tom & Ruth Drummond Anna Mae Dyce Head Usher Jim Hogue Liturgist Don Reed Care Board Bob & Barbara Muir Van Driver Don Harr

Substitute Greeters: Ann Chase Kay Doss Chris Eriksen Tom & Ruth Drummond Ruth Ewen Bob & Linda Fedric Ginger Green Jeannie Hekkel Tom & Ginny Helmer Biff Hogue Midge Jarrett Walt & Priscilla Laird Bob & Barbara Muir Ralph Myhre Betty Nesmith June Pierce John & Marie Reamy Charlie Reed Jerry Swanson Lucille Weisbeck Bill Woolston Marge Myhra Barbara Rice Earl & Sharon Henderson Ray & Jean Noble JoAnn Jones Anna Mae Dyce

Substitute Ushers: Kay Doss Chris Eriksen Tom & Ginny Helmer Biff Hogue Bob & Barbara Muir Ray & Jean Noble Diane Noddings Charlie Reed Barbara Reed George Schuman Charlene Surwill Bill Woolston Pat Clark Barbara Rice Earl & Sharon Henderson Anna Mae Dyce Ginger Green Don Reed

M e m o r y J o g g e r s f o r M a r c h

P a s t o r ’ s P e n

March 2012 Volume 3

“Come Join the Fishing Derby”

As many of you know, I spent the summer months of my college years working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. For three months of the year, it was our goal to catch as many salmon as possible, using a large purse seine net. Our best season of fishing was in 1989 when our crew of seven brought in about 350,000 salmon, totaling close to 20 million pounds. It was an exciting season to see so many fish caught! I still love to fish, even if on a smaller scale. I hope that you will join our fishing crew as we enter our 2nd annual fishing derby to raise funds for the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering. You can help by picking up one of our OGHS fish boxes (available in the church’s gallery) and begin to fill it with coins. On Easter Sunday, we will be collecting all of the boxes and have our weigh-in during worship. If you will be out of town on Easter Sunday, we invite you to return your fish box ahead of time. Our goal is to beat last year’s record of 151 pounds. This is a fun and entertaining way to help those in need. The proceeds from the OGHS offering go to support the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program which provide much needed assistance when disasters strike. PDA was one of the first agencies into Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when the torna-dos devastated these communities last year. Proceeds from this offering also went to many people in our region who were affected by the flooding just a year ago. We, as a church, have a desire to help others in need. Our church does not exist for our own self preservation. As our mission statement reminds us, we exist to “reflect the love of Jesus Christ in our church, community and world.” We are making a difference in the lives of people here is Billings and beyond. Throughout this newsletter you will hear of ways how your financial contributions are helping people. We have partnered with Stephen’s Stones Ministries to make a difference in Billings by helping the less fortunate (please see Troy’s letter on page 7). We will be sending a team of 28 youth and adults this summer to Belize, Central America, to build a house for the under-privileged. Our mission committee is an active group that is seeking ways to better engage with those in our community. I greatly appreciate your generosity and concern toward other. Let’s go catch some fish! — Pastor Dave

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Session Notes/Finance

2

Birthdays/ Sunday School

3

PW & Notices 4

Church Mice/ Youth News

5

Calendar/Mission 6

Mission Extra 7

Memory Joggers 8

“The Difference”

During the month of March I will be continuing a sermon series titled, “The Difference.” In this series we will be hearing from a different person from our congregation each week share how Christ is making a difference in their lives. Here is the schedule of upcoming guests: March 4: Biff Hogue; March 11: Dani Repka; March 18: Jeff and Tonya Appelt; March 25: Mystery guest

P a g e 2

Office Hours: Mon—Fri 8:30 am— 4 pm 406-252-3434 mainoffice@fpcbillings.org www.fpcbillings.org Sunday school @ 9:15 Worship Service @ 10:30 STAFF Pastor:

The Rev. Dave Thompson

Office Manager:

Jeanne Thompson-Raney

Maintenance Supervisor:

Craig Berens

Music Director:

Denise Finn

Music Accompanist:

Bev Wornom

Nursery Attendant:

Catherine Kenney

SESSION Clerk of Session Marlene Spencer 252-5027 Class of 2013 Heidi Duncan 252-2373 Gary Lohnbakken 656-2046 Michelle Reed 252-5316 John Stewart 652-3637 Class of 2014 David Culbertson 655-7826 Carol Harr 656-3168 Janet Kline 652-6374 Bill Lorentz 656-8163

Class of 2015 Kathy Baskett 544-9857 Sharon Brady 655-9046 Marv Brown 256-0257 Jeff Gruizenga 850-3697

SESSION MINUTES

A guest at the February 14th meeting of the session was Don Harr, representing his Christian Study Group. He showed the plaque that the group has purchased in memory of Rev. Mi-lous Repka. The plaque will be place near a tree that has a significant association with Rev. Repka. Also present was Jack Bell who was attending as a require-ment of his study to become a Commissioned Lay Pastor. This was the first meeting for new elders, Kathy Baskett and

Jeff Gruizenga, who were welcomed by the group. The 2012 budget of was passed. The proposed budget is $350,775, while the projected expenses are $313,933. Jack Bell was elected as commissioner to the next Presbytery to be held in Bozeman on March 2nd and 3rd. Via De Cristo was given permission to hold a retreat in our church in April. Janet Kline will replace Sharon Brady as a representative to the Foundation. On April 14th the session will have a retreat to make plans for the future.

2012 Income Expense Net

February $26,062 25,664 398

YTD 56,644 55,793 851

2012 Per Capita = $43.13/member

We are encouraging our members to pay their

per capita payment for the year.

FEBRUARY 2012

5th 180

12th 185

19th 183

22nd Ash Wed.

71

26nd

163

2012 Feb Average

176

2011 Feb Average

156

V o l u m e 3

Question of the week? Is there a question pertaining to the Bible, church, or Christian faith that you have always wanted to ask? Pastor Dave will try his best to answer these questions in a special segment during our morning wor-ship services titled, “Question of the Week.” If you have a question that you would like Pastor Dave to answer, please submit them via e-mail to pastordave@fpcbillings.org or leave them for him in the church office. This will be a neat opportunity for us to learn more about the Christian faith.

Food Bank Sundays Just a reminder that the first

Sunday of each month is

designated as “Food Bank

Sunday.” We invite you to

bring food items as a dona-

tion for the Billings Food

Bank. Thanks!!

Church Women United News Join us for “Prayer for All Seasons” Human Rights 2011 Celebration and Potluck

When: Friday, March 2 , 2012

Time: 12:00 PM Where: Shiloh United Methodist Church

1810 Shiloh Road (656-0050) Please join us for fellowship, worship and plan to have

soup on us !

V o l u m e 3 P a g e 7

Send Donations to: Presbyterian World Mission Presbyterian Church (USA) PO Box 643700 Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

WHAT DO Bangkok, Thailand, -Klaipeda, Luthuania, - Syracruse, New York – Haiti have in common? Presbyterian

missionaries and Presbyterian mission! Scattered across the world and the United States, Presbyterians are seeking to bear witness to Christ’s good news, seeking Christ’s justice, and working for Christ’s reconciliation. AND THIS IS OUR 175TH

YEAR! To help celebrate this anniversary, a group of committed donors, convinced that more individuals should support Presbyterian mission workers, has pledged to match dollar-for-dollar every gift made to support Presbyterian mission person-

nel up to $50,000. That means that your gift – of any size – will be doubled!

Be a part of sharing with a hurting world Christ’s good news. Checks should be made out to Presbyterian Church (USA), noted for World Mission. Send them in yourselves or turn them in to the office where they will be forwarded. HELP

CONTINUE 175 YEARS OF PRESBYTERIAN WORLD MISSION by completing and returning the form below.

The following letter is from Troy McInnis who our church partnered with at Christmas to provide gifts to 17 needed children from Billings:

To the church body, grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we cele-brate this time of the year for the gift and sacrifice He gave to the world. It has been our pleasure this year to serve alongside you in the ministry that God has called us to, and we hope in the new year God will allow us to spread the light He gave us ever further through the community. I thank each of you who had the privilege to have God place a person of need in front of you for you share His blessings. You don’t know what an honor that is for God to allow us to take part in service. If you observed a person in need, but for whatever reason, didn’t respond, I would like to share with you the special way that God blesses us. As a Christian, God makes divine appointments for us to respond to that is not a request from God but a joyful command. I do realize that sometimes God will double book this appointment with an appointment that we have already made. Never the less, never disregard the King of the Universe for what we deem more important. For the ones who observed someone in need and responded with a prayer for that person, I thank you, for prayers are needed. However, I would also like to share with you a special way that god blesses us as Christians. God uses His children to help others in a time of need. So pray yes, but also hold on to those connections and don’t let go of those brothers and sisters who have visible physical needs, and most of all those who are in need of Jesus Christ Himself. Lastly, to everyone who understood that the person in front of them was a divine appointment, prayed for them and their family, and then allowed God to direct the assistance He wanted given. What a blessing you are and God has a gift waiting for you at home. This Christmas season, we at Stephen’s Stones Ministries were directed to seventeen children representing eight families in need of God’s intervention. The Lord chose our two ministries to unite as the body of Christ and re-spond to the felt needs of both Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters. May the Lord give you a passion for the homeless, the less fortunate, and the those persons reaching out for someone to show them what is missing in their life. Remember that the most valuable commodity you have in your life is your time. Give it generously. May the Lord shower His blessings on you in 2012. Forever In His Grip, Troy D. McInnis— Stephen’s Stones Ministries

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1

1 Mission Comm. 7 Youth Basketball 7 Christian Ed mtg. IHN Here

2 Presbytery Meeting in Bozeman through Sat. Interfaith Hospitality Network Here

3 10 Montana Celiac Society Meeting Interfaith Hospitali-ty Network Here

4 9:15 Sunday School 10:30 Worship Communion

5 6:30 Men Bible study 1 Deacons Meeting 6:30 BCCA

6 9:30 Women’s Bible Study 10 Staff Meeting 12 Lenten Lunch & Learn 6 Youth Basketball

7 9-2 BSF Leaders 9:30 PW Board Mtg. 12 BLT Library 6:00 Youth Group 6 Deborah Circle 7 Choir Rehearsal

8 9-11 BSF 7 Basketball 7 Stephen’s Ministry Supervision

9

10

11 9:15 Sunday School 10:30 Worship

12 6:30 Men Bible study

6 Basketball

13 9:30 Women’s Bible Study 10 Staff Meeting 12 Lenten Lunch & Learn 6 Beta Sigma (Basement) 6 Basketball 7 Session Meeting

14 9-11 BSF Leaders 9:15 PW Circles 12 BLT- library 1 PW Circles 6 Youth Group 6 Deborah Circle 7 Choir Rehearsal

15 9-11 BSF 7 Basketball

16

Newsletter Submission Deadline!

17 St. Patrick’s Day

18 9:15 Sunday School 10:30 Worship Basket auction and lunch after church

19 6:30 Men Bible study 6 Basketball

20 9:30 Women’s Bible Study 10 Staff Meeting 12 Lenten Lunch & Learn 6 Youth Basketball

21 9 BSF Leaders 9:15 M & N Circles 1 BLT –library 6 Youth Group 6 Deborah Circle 7 Choir Rehearsal

22 9-11 BSF 11 Fellowship Committee Meeting 7 Basketball

23

24

25 9:15 Sunday School 10:30 Worship

26 6:30 Men Bible study 6 Basketball 6 Eagle Rock

27 9:30 Women’s Bible Study 10 Staff Meeting 12 Lenten Lunch & Learn 6 Youth Basketball

28 9 BSF Leaders 1 BLT –library 6 Youth Group 6 Deborah Circle 7 Choir Rehearsal

29 4:30 Stephen Ministry Continuing Ed. 7 Basketball Last One!

30 31

P a g e 6 V o l u m e 3

Representatives from Habitat for Humanity were invited to the Mission Committee meeting. They pre-sented a brief background of the origin of Habitat, its mission, and its activities and accomplishments here in Billings as well as areas in the world. Included in their presentation were ways which individuals, corpora-tions, churches and others were able to be involved in the Habitat program. Over the next few months will consider the possibility of First Presbyterian Church being involved on some level. Thank you for your help at the last Meet ‘n Eat. We prepared 3 meals for our youth group when they meet with Tumbleweeds once a month. Also we sorted a large number of toiletries for Gateway House, The Crisis Center, the HUB, the Salvation Army, and the Women and Children’s Family Center. February’s noisy offering was $368! The Mission Committee is using that money to buy blankets for the resi-dents of Ponderosa Pines Nursing Home. If there are extra blankets we will give them to Gateway House. Be sure to check the Mission Bulletin Board (near the Fireside Room door) for what is happening in mission at FPC and for ways to be involved. We are looking forward to the One Great Hour of Sharing Fishing Derby. If you have not yet received a fish box, you can pick one up on the table in the gallery. We are looking to surpass last year’s record of 151 pounds of fish returned. Mark your calendar: Meet ‘n Eat is April 29 Noise Offering April 29—offering going to The Gideon's to purchase Bibles

MISSION P a g e 3

V o l u m e 3

Birthdays 2 Leona Roberts

3 Bruce Barone

Margaret Converse 4 Linda Haden

9 Bob Fedric 12 Mary Lou Jacobson

13 Nikki Schaubel Laura Sterup

14 Mike Hofacker

17 Ken Chase 17 Tom Drummond

18 Bill Ballard

Kailey Roberts Maxine Schuman

19 Jane Corning

Don Reed 21 Ray Noble

22 Joe Roberts Will White

24 Cory Grabow 25 Peggy Munis

26 Josh Culbertson

Julie Janiak Walt Laird

29 Heidi Henderson

30 Virginia Cox Cindy Leggate

Anniversaries 11 Ed & Alta Dakolios

19 Scott & Carol Harr 21 Bill & Colleen Lorentz

Adult Education Opportunities on Sunday mornings

“Building Better Relationships” is a six week Sunday school class that continues each Sunday morning at 9:15 am in the Fireside Room through March 25. Co-led by Pastor Dave and Dr. Kathy Baskett, this class is exploring ways to enhance our relationships with others, including spouses, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Areas such as communication, conflict resolution, and peace-making skills is being taught. This class is practical for people of all ages.

Church and Society Schedule for March

MARCH 4: Jim Gransbery, former agriculture and political writer for the Billings Gazette, 'Whose Religious Conscience Trumps'? Jim will explore the theme of what is religious conscience and who gets to impose it. MARCH 11: Phil Jensen, Assistant Professor of Biology, Rocky Mountain College, "Misunderstanding Evolu-tion: Five Common Missteps". The talk will explain common ways that the public misinterprets evolutionary theory. MARCH 18: Jay Cassel, Professor of Religious Thought, Rocky Mountain College. Following last week's talk about evolution, Dr. Cassel will discuss ways to read the Book of Genesis 1-4. MARCH 25: Robyn Peterson, Executive Director, Yellowstone Art Museum "Reflections on the Spiritu-al: Selected Works in the Yellowstone Art Museum's Permanent Collections" A surprising number of works in the YAM's collection take inspiration from religious and spiritual ideas. Robyn will show you a selection of these very wide-ranging pieces, most of which are rarely exhibited. Enjoy everything from medieval manu-script pages and contemporary interpretations of Christian symbolism to images taking their cue from an-cient myth and a view of a Buddhist temple.

Lenten Lunch and Learn continues on Tuesdays All are invited to join us for our annual Lenten Lunch and Learn series continuing each Tuesday in the Fireside Room from 12-1 PM. A free soup and bread lunch is provided followed by a study led by Pastor Dave titled, “Finding God in a God-less World.” The six week study will be based on the amazing story of Queen Esther. Dave has a great appreciation to help people understand the Bible and to show how God's word provides practical application to many of today’s situations. The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God, but God's fin-gerprints are found in each chapter. Come and learn how God is still at work in our world, work-ing out God's purposes for our good.

P a g e 4

V o l u m e 3

PW is starting to plan for our Praise Luncheon. This is the big one where we invite la-dies from many churches. The luncheon will be on Wednesday, April 4 at noon in the Fel-lowship Hall. If you are not in a circle, please RSVP to Marlene Spencer or Betty Ann Nesmith by March 23. You are welcome to bring guests. Be sure to RSVP for them too. The speaker for the luncheon will be from Tumbleweed. The Gateway House has these needs: large spoons, pillows, cleaning supplies, plates, cereal bowls, pots with lids, light bulbs, salt and pepper shakers, blankets, insecticides. As always thank you so very much for all of your time and donations.

Flower Donations A flower sign-up sheet is located on the back ta-ble in the narthex. We invite you to sign up for a particular Sunday to sponsor the flowers either in honor or memory of someone or a special event such as an anniversary, birthday, etc. Suggested donation is $25. Special thanks to those who do-nated flowers during the month of February. They included: Daniel Repka & Suzanne Braun, Dave & Vicki Thompson, and Thelma Riggs

Presbyterian Women News

Snow plowing help needed! The Eagle Rock board is looking for some-one who might have the capability of plowing out the road to the facility during times of heavy snow. If you might be able to help with this please contact Scott Harr (656-3168) or Linda Haden (652-6818).

Belize Mission Trip Update This summer a group of 28 youth and adults from our church will be traveling to Belize, Central America, where we will be building a house. We are looking forward to mak-ing a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. The cost of the trip will be about $1,200 per person and the materials for the house will be $6,000. To help raise funds for the housing materials and trip expenses we have begun our Travel Partner fundraiser. Help us to get to Belize and back by becoming a Travel Partner. Every dollar donated allows us to travel a mile. Please indicate in the remittance line of your check, “Travel Partner.” As a Travel Partner you will receive a postcard from our Mission Team while we are in Belize and be invited to our Travel Partner banquet upon our return. Check out the Travel Partner display in gallery! So far we have traveled 1,630 miles. We’ve almost made it to Belize!

Easter Lilly Donations Being Received Easter lilies will again be available for donation this year, with them being displayed on Easter Sunday. We are asking for a donation of $15, which can be submitted through the church office. Order forms will also be placed in the bulletin on the Sundays leading up to Easter. You may specify on your lily order that the flower would be given in memory or honor of a family member or friend. For questions pertaining to the lilies, please contact Jeanne in the church office. Thanks!

Special Thanks! A special thank you to my church family for all the prayers, cards, flowers and food during may stay in the hospital & recoup time. And to Pastor Dave for his visits –they made my day! Peace of Christ be with all of you. —Anna Mae Dyce

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 3

Youth News: We have an active youth group that meets every Wednesday evening and at

other times for special events. Friends are always welcome to join us!

Youth Group continues on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM. All Middle School and Senior High youth are invited to join us every week for supper followed by games, music, and Bible learning time. Friends are always welcome to join us. We continue our partnership with Tumbleweed, a local organization that helps at-risk children and youth. Once a month our youth group serves a meal at Tumbleweed and builds relationships with other youth in our community. Cooks Needed for Wednesday night youth dinners. Teri Pattee is in charge of getting volunteers to provide dinners. Please contact Teri as she would love emails or phone calls for anyone that would like to help with a meal or dessert. E-Mail Teri at tpattee@marykay.com or call 690-3476.

Youth Basket Auction: Our annual youth basket auction will be held on Sunday, March 18 after worship. We encourage you to make a special basket that will be sold via silent and live auctions. All proceeds will go to support our summer mission trip to Belize where we will be building a house for the less fortunate. If you are interested in donate a basket, please talk with Jody Ferestad or Pastor Dave.

Church Mice

The Church Mice love’s surprises and we are very anxious to see the new banner to be placed in the sanctuary for lent. Loving hands created this banner and we want to thank Marian Shehein, Alta Dakolios, Marlene Spencer, Pat Clark, Pat Hastings, Sue Bentley and Sarah Repka for their work on the banner.

Health Hints A short story with a moral: A donkey fell into a well and could not get out. He was old and feeble, not much good for anything. So the farmer thought the easiest thing to do would be to bury him and forget about him. The farmer and neighbors began to shovel dirt into the well, but as the dirt fell, the donkey shook it off and stepped to the top of each shovelful until he was able to step out into the yard. Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. So —shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. Never give up. Free your heart from hatred. FORGIVE. Free you mind from worries. Most never happen. Live simply and appreciate what you have. Give more and Expect Less P.S. The donkey came back and bit the farmer on his behind. Moral: When you do something wrong and try to cover it up, it always come back to bite you. May God bless you in mind, body, and spirit. Jane

STEPHEN MINISTRY MOMENTS We are very excited to have three new Stephen Ministers to serve this congregation! They have com-pleted the 52 hours of training required and have been commissioned before the congregation. Please welcome Edna Davis, Carlene Taubert and Jenice Fugere as new Stephen Ministers!